Sheffield duo the Kings of 99 This year's Budweiser League honours are headng for Yorkshire after Westfield Sharks Sheffield coach Chris Finch was voted Coach of the Year by the British media. His on-court general Terrell Myers is Budweiser Player of the Year, an award chosen by the thirteen Budweiser League coaches.
Finch’s well deserved award comes after he became the first man in Basketball League history to win the competition as both a player and a coach – he led the Sharks to the Budweiser League title in the closest race ever. The Cambridge, Ohio-born play-caller played for the Sharks for three years, during which time he won the league title, the trophy and the Cup – a feat he has now repeated as coach. Last season, Leopards' Billy Mims was given the honour.The media have recognised Finch’s achievements and Myers has joined in praising his coach. “Chris Finch is a very good coach. He works hard and he knows what he’s talking about. He gets the most out of the players and you can always talk to him if you need to, which makes him a great coach.”
Myers earned this accolade following his superb season and his increasingly frequent habit of winning key games with buzzer-beating shots, a talent which also followed his predecessor of the award, Eric Burks. This season, Myers netted with just half a second remaining to clinch the Budweiser League title for Sheffield in an amazing “Winner takes all!” clash with the Manchester Giants on the last day of the season.
The New Haven Conneticut-born Myers averaged 23.5 ppg for the season, which places him fifth in the league for scoring. In the majority of his appearances, he has led the Sharks points tally.
Sharks’ team captain, Todd Cauthorn added, “Terrell has certainly been the most valuable player on our team this season. He’s such a natural scorer - a great perimeter shooter. If you give him the ball at 17-20 feet out, he’s pretty much automatic.”
That shot was against the Manchester Giants’ duo of John White and Tony Dorsey, whom Myers beat to second and third places respectively to claim the Player of the Year prize.
White, who topped the poll of Britball readers, was ranked second following his 26.09 ppg, which put him top of the league’s scoring table, ahead of team-mate Dorsey. On more than one occasion this season, the pair have carried the Giants to victory. White has this season’s record for the most points scored in a game, when he netted 54 points against Thames Valley Tigers in the uni-ball trophy on Boxing Day.
The full Budweiser All Star Team is:
1. Terrell Myers Westfield Sharks Sheffield
2. John White Manchester Giants
3. Tony Dorsey Manchester Giants
4. John McCord Thames Valley Tigers
5. Nigel Lloyd Peugeot Bullets Birmingham
6. Tim Moore adidas Greater London Leopards
7. Travis Conlan Westfield Sharks Sheffield
8. Ralph Blalock Newcastle Eagles
9. Casey Arena Thames Valley Tigers
10. Danny Lewis Exide London TowersCoach Chris Finch Westfield Sharks Sheffield
Seven of the top ten players, plus the Budweiser Coach of the Year will be in action this coming weekend in the Budweiser Championships at Wembley Arena.
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